Making wood bricks.for flooring

[rjwoelk]

I got a call from a fellow who would like a 4.5x9 x ft . Of birch.
What he wants to do is cut end grain slices 1/2 thick  air dry them then glue them to his studio floor( clay sculpture artist). He would sand it down and fill in all the cracks and checks with the dust mixed with glue as a grout.
I think they should be more like 3/4 or maybe 1 inch thick. Gives him more thickness for more sandings over time and better wear. 

[LeeB]

I would think drying before slicing the bricks would be a better idea. 

[Ianab]

Would take years for a log to dry. 

As long as the guy expects some cracks once they dry, and has a plan to deal with them, carry on. 

Slices like that will dry (and crack) in a few weeks. Then he can glue them down and slap on the putty. 

He would be best with "Free of heart" if you can do that, or some smaller pieces if you can't. Less checks and gaps to fill that way. The pieces that have pith, they will crack badly. No pith = more stable

[LeeB]

Hadn't meant the logs should be dried first, but I guess a 4.5" x 9" would take quite a long time to dry also. Indeed, I was considering the amount of cracking he would experience trying to cut the slices from green lumber.

[Texas Ranger]

Bank here in town has mesquite bricks for flooring.  A dark wood, they filled in the checks and cracks with what looks like black bondo,  beautiful floor.

[Brad_bb]

You could fill with a tinted epoxy - tinted black or whatever.   FOH would be a good for reducing checking,  but most end grain floors I've seen are boxed heart pieces because they want to see that circular pattern.  I'd want thicker pieces than 1.2", but you could probably get away with it.  I've never done a floor like this, but I wonder if setting the pieces in epoxy might be a good idea?  Then do all your grouting/crack filling with an epoxy pour, then sanding the surface.  Some of the tinted epoxy would go over the top of some bricks which is why you need a good aggressive floor sanding to clean it up.  I don't know though.  The owner will have to do the research and decision making.  Confirm with the owner that he wants boxed heart, which is what I would want. Explain to him that they will check like cookies check when drying.

[rjwoelk]

Yes he is aware of the checking and is ok with that as it adds character.  He wants pretty rustic look.
He just needs to figure out how many ft he needs.

[Kindlinmaker]

I've seen massive end grain block floors in manufacturing plants in the Midwest. I inquired about one in particular where I had a large business relationship. It was well ocer a hundred thousand square feet installed over concrete in a major printing plant. If I remember correctly...   Installed around 1917.  The blocks were 4 x6 end grain maple. 2" thick.   Set in creosote with thinned creosote squeegeed into the cracks as grout and bonding adhesive. They were used because the wood could be sealed/resurfaced to keep the floors less slippery than the concrete when inks, solvents and other chemicals got slopped on them (guessing concrete sealers were somewhat limited back then).  They were being screeded and sealed with modern finishes by the time I first saw them in the 80s.  They have withstood incredibly heavy equipment running over them as well as chemical exposure for 100 years. Some of the most beautiful antique floors I have ever seen.....in a factory no less.  Go figure. Of course we can't even buy creosote anymore and probably wouldn't want to if we could. 

[low_48]

I worked on top of an industrial floor when I started at Caterpillar in 1972. Like you say, block floor as far as you could see. Worked well until the ceiling sprung a leak, or a coolant tank leak on a machine. Then it would buckle up and be a mess. They had a full time crew in those days. These guys brought in dry blocks and laid them in. They fired up the hot tar kettle and poured it on and used a squeegee to strike it level. Hard to breath around it when they did a repair in the winter and those tar fumes had no place to go. Latter when I was a modelmaker in the Industrial Design department, we remodeled the design studio and I suggested we do an homage to that floor. Brought in wood blocks from End Grain Wood Block Flooring by Kaswell Flooring Systems. Beautiful floor with an oil finish. Winter brought about gaping and some noise from the floor as it really shrank up. That 9" dimension is the one that will cause issues. It's going to do anything but stay straight.

[rjwoelk]

Would he be better off doing 6x6 or 8x8?

[low_48]

I think so. The square could become a trapezoid, but he wouldn't get the longer arc (bow) from the 4 1/2 x 9.

[nativewolf]

I've seen massive end grain block floors in manufacturing plants in the Midwest. I inquired about one in particular where I had a large business relationship. It was well ocer a hundred thousand square feet installed over concrete in a major printing plant. If I remember correctly...   Installed around 1917.  The blocks were 4 x6 end grain maple. 2" thick.   Set in creosote with thinned creosote squeegeed into the cracks as grout and bonding adhesive. They were used because the wood could be sealed/resurfaced to keep the floors less slippery than the concrete when inks, solvents and other chemicals got slopped on them (guessing concrete sealers were somewhat limited back then).  They were being screeded and sealed with modern finishes by the time I first saw them in the 80s.  They have withstood incredibly heavy equipment running over them as well as chemical exposure for 100 years. Some of the most beautiful antique floors I have ever seen.....in a factory no less.  Go figure. Of course we can't even buy creosote anymore and probably wouldn't want to if we could.

And the floors made from end blocks are just as beautiful today.
Black Locust - Kaswell

[nativewolf]

Permeable Wood Pavers » Robi Decking

And another version